it is coming

Lately I have been eating, breathing, and sleeping work. I fall asleep thinking about jewelry design and wake up in a hurry to get to the bus on time to make it to my day job, which has been really demanding lately, too. So I'm here today to share with you some of my thoughts about what I'll be doing over my Christmas holidays.

While visiting my family and friends, I plan to spend lots of time outside (no matter how cold it is, and I imagine it will be very cold). I would really like to visit the migratory bird sanctuary that I used to work at, as I've been trying to get back there for the last couple of Christmas vacations, only to have everything else make that all but impossible. Maybe since Jamie and Carrah live on that side of the city we can all go there together this year.

I would also love to walk in Weaselhead, which is close to my parent's house. Last year I did a small post with some of my photos from our afternoon there. It is definitely my favourite park in Calgary.

And, finally, I am sooooooo looking forward to sitting on some couches, eating food and drinking giant cups of coffee. I will likely spend some time on Jill's, Heather's, Jenn's, and my parents' couches, to name just a few. In fact, I'll pretty much go anywhere where I can hang out on a couch and enjoy doing almost nothing. Doing absolutely nothing is just not in my nature.

The countdown is on. Just one week until winter vacation. In the meantime, Jeff will keep delivering Vancouver's mail, I'll be happily making jewelry every night and getting stuff done at work every day, and Lola will continue to sleep 22.5 hours a day. After all, we all have to earn this little break, right?

P.S. The great irony of running an online shop around Christmas is how much time I spend helping other people get ready (gladly helping them, no less), while my own preparations lag further and further behind! I think I might be sending out some IOUs this year!

P.P.S. If you'd like your Sadie package to arrive before Christmas today is the day to get your order in, friends!

back from montreal

Hello hello! It's been a while. I'm back now from a super fun one week vacation in Montreal and an overnighter in Vermont! New England and the east of this country is kind of paradise this time of year and I have lots of great photos to share once I do some editing. The one above I took from my Bixi (the inexpensive, convenient bike share program in Montreal) in Parc Lafontaine. In the meantime, let's take a look at my autumn to-do list. It's coming along nicely:

1. Go camping on the coast DONE

2. Visit a pumpkin patch (and conquer a corn maze while I'm there)

3. Bake a pie from scratch

4. Go apple picking

5. Visit friends in a different city DONE

6. Have a Thanksgiving feast DONE x 2!

7. Revamp the blog for a new season DONE

8. Knit something (I'm thinking chunky yarn and big needles) DONE

9. Go for a forest hike on the North Shore

10. Take photos with a new camera

11. Clean up the garden one more time

12. Walk home from work (it's a pretty long walk)

13. Ride the Stanley Park Halloween Ghost Train (Ivy and Jamie, I'm going to miss you guys this year!) DONE with Laura, Jeff, and Mike

14. Check out the Parade of Lost Souls (Halloween seems to be Vancouver's favourite holiday) - October 28


What did you get up to this past week?


Here's one of the songs that was part of our soundtrack during this trip. Enjoy!

taking five

Jeff, Lola, and I spent the Thanksgiving weekend in Powell River at the cabin. The cabin is actually our friend Grady's house, which he shares with his awesome daughter Clancy and their cat, Mittens. We spent the weekend in a town of 20,000 without a whole lot to do. So we drank a lot of coffee, we made some delicious food (including a Tofurkey and cranberry sauce, which I love), and hung out with a lot of horses, dogs, and even a cat or two. It was pretty much heaven. Above you can see a picture of me with my giant dog friends, Honey and Bear (a.k.a. Chunkstar and Leo). You can also see our black and white dog, Lola, taking five. We took a lot of fives, too. Have you seen Fubar? You really should. Most of it was filmed in the city Jeff and I used to live in. It's kind of a must-see movie, whether you're Canadian or not. This trailer is definitely not suitable for work:

I'm going to Montreal this weekend to visit with friends and to spend some time in a fun city that I haven't been to in over nine years. It's a long overdue visit and I can't wait to hang out with Jeff, Jesse, Marigold, and Camilla all week long. I'll be back when I can with pictures and stories!

amanda's rad summer: reykjavik

Our great friends Ryan and Amanda went on an amazing trip this summer to a place Jeff (who has Icelandic heritage) and I definitely dreams of visiting...Iceland! Amanda has been kind enough to share some of their awesome photos here on the Sadie blog. I love the stark contrast between this summer adventure and Carrah's Africa trip. To the moonscape...


This August my husband Ryan and I were fortunate to spend a week in Iceland, somewhat of a belated honeymoon made possible by the generous contributions of friends and family from our wedding last September. Iceland is a strange and beautiful place that Ryan has always wanted to visit, and that had also intrigued me for its amazing landscapes (including hot springs and volcanoes) and artists (including Bjork and mum).

Flying over Greenland at sunrise

View from our awesome hotel, Kex (which used to be a biscuit factory). There’s a lonely lighthouse out on the point, reminiscent of the Mum video posted above.

Reykjavik (from the top of Hallgrimskikja– the church that is the centre of the city)

This says something about fish…I think. Luckily Icelanders also speak English.

We had some of the best Thai food, fish and chips, and pizza that I have ever eaten. But not to be missed were the bæjarins beztu pylsur, the best hot dogs in town, from Iceland’s most popular restaurant, a hot dog stand. 

The impressive natural hot springs and moonscape of the Blue Lagoon. 

This was a cold and windy day; all the more reason for us to spend 4 hours in the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa nearby, where hot springs, steam rooms, saunas and even beer and ice cream could be enjoyed. 

Definitely a magical place!

At this time last year Jeff and I were excited and getting ready for Ryan and Amanda's lovely Vancouver wedding. This year it was our turn, and let me just say publicly that Amanda was so helpful, gracious, and reassuring as we prepared for the big day. She took on so much for us, took a hit for the team at a wine tasting party (ugh...that was a fun and terrible idea) and made all the planning seem way more fun and easy. Thank you so much, friend, and thank you for sharing these photos and a bit of your Iceland adventure story. So glad that you guys moved to Vancouver! So many fun times to come!

two weeks until the wedding and we took a vacation from planning

This weekend Jeff and I took a vacation from all of our wedding responsibilities and went to Kelowna to hang with our friends Heather and Doug. Some vineyards were visited, trampolines were jumped on, mountains and lakes were enjoyed, and it was very, very hot the entire time! Awesome. If you've never been to the Okanagan Valley it's an amazing place that you would never guess was in Canada. A desert, perhaps best described in Stina's recent guest post. 

Two summery things that I really want to share with you:

The Summerhill Syrah Rose is amazing and fulfills #2 on the Village Voice's list of 11 Things You Really Must Do Before the Summer Is Over.

This zucchini bread is so delicious and easy to make, and I know many of you gardeners must be finding yourself with some extra zucchini these days.

Finally, I just want to say that I was very sad to hear about the passing of Jack Layton this morning when I woke up. I think he led his party with spirit that is missing from many all of our other politicians in Canada and I think his passing is a huge loss for us all. Jeff and I both loved his stint on the CBC working in a hospital ER room. We were always so impressed by his commitment to Canadians. He'll be missed.

we've been away

Jeff and I ran away from Vancouver and took a break from wedding-related responsibilities this weekend to hang with our friends Heather and Doug in the Okanagan. I'll share some more photos bright and early tomorrow morning. I hope that you all had an amazing weekend. Lola had a dogsittter stay with her and now she is slightly crazed due to us getting back this evening. Do you have any last minute vacations planned before September hits?

rad summer: portland

This weekend Jeff and I hung out in Portland with Lola and a few friends of ours. We chose to head there based on the weather forecast. Vancouver was gonna be showery and overcast, Seattle nice but not hot, and Portland hot and sunny. I am seriously at a point of being willing to drive hours to feel summer. That being said, it seems that Vancouver has figured it out now and this week is looking good!

Here are some photos of a few trip highlights: vintage shops and strawberry blintzes, a goggle-wearing chihuahua named Rootbeer, hammertime, dog walks, sunshine, and late night food. I hope that you have a chance to visit Portland sometime. I've been going there pretty regularly for the past 8 or 9 years and never get sick of it. I've never seen so many breakfast places in one city and love all of the niche stores like Artemesia, which specializes in terrarium supplies, and the gigantic bookstore that I want to live in, Powell's. Seriously, the trip is worth it for any book lover just because of that store. You really, really should go. And as a Canadian used to paying way too much for everything, I love two dollar beers and four dollar veggie burgers during happy hour (happy hour, by the way, is illegal in British Columbia...yikes).

P.S. Chevre, ligonberry, lemon curd crepes are delicious!

fresh air: denman island

This is the final post of photos from my island adventures over the weekend. These photos were all taken on Denman Island, another Northern Gulf Island and the island that we were staying on. Jamie invited us to stay with him at his family cabin, which was a cozy home base where we made great dinners and watched satellite tv. Our last day on the island was warm and dry and we spent a good part of the afternoon on a 9 hole golf course that's been built in a farmer's field. I've never golfed before and I took a few swings on this course only to realize that I think I swing left. I think this because swinging right felt uncomfortable and looked insane, but my first left swing felt way better and actually moved the ball in the right direction. I was mostly the animal wrangler during the golfing though.

The course was pretty unique and was completely covered in sheep crap, which Lola ate by the pound. It was totally impossible to stop her, as it really was everywhere, but I tried to prevent it as much as possible. As we left the course an island kid hit a ball in our general direction and just missed us by a few feet. What a brat! By the end of the day Lola was completely burnt out from insane outdoors adventures for two days straight, so she curled up in the cabin garden in a little hay-lined nest she built for herself. Ridiculous. Now she needs a bath possibly more than she's ever needed a bath before, and she's still tired. Jeff and I probably won't see a whole lot of her for the next day or two. She's worn out from vacation while I can't wait for the next one!

AND in Day in the Life news, next Monday's post will be by Hwasoon Kim from the amazing Morning Calm. You are not going to want to miss this one. It's going to be the perfect Monday morning post.

fresh air: hornby island part two

The second part of our day on Hornby Island involved a hike (really more like a leisurely walk) at Helliwell Provincial Park. I had to share so many photos of the later half of our day because it was amazing. The hike starts with a nice forest approach that leads to insanely beautiful sweeping ocean views. Mountains and islands, green cliffs, and miles of ocean make it impossible to avoid stopping to take a photo every two steps. The trail leads around a point on the island and into an old growth Douglas Fir forest. Look at the size of some of those beauties. Do I recommend visiting Hornby Island? How could I not! We also found a deer skull (which we brought home) and finished with a really delicious meal and pint at the local pub while we waited for the ferry back to Denman. This was such a great day, I hope you don't mind me sharing so many of my photos. By the way, can anyone ID the flower near the top of this post? One more island vacation post to come tomorrow, thanks for taking the time to look, read and comment!